Cholesterol: Teenagers affected?

Cholesterol: Teenagers affected?

By: Jhonalyn N. Pascual

teenagers

High cholesterol is something icky that happens to older people-right? 

Not exactly. High cholesterol can start to be a problem during the teenager years. Teenagers can develop habits that lead to high cholesterol in . Sometimes high cholesterol can be caused by your genes, and sometimes by diet and lifestyle.

Wherever it comes from, it’s definitely something teens want to avoid, because it can lead to serious illness.

Just what is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy substance produced naturally in our bodies by the liver. It’s also found in foods that come from animals, like eggs, meats, and whole-fat dairy products. It lurks in lots of yummy things like burgers, fries, chips, cheese curls, and other processed foods. There’s no cholesterol in vegetables, fruits, and grains.

It’s important to have some cholesterol in your body because it helps build cell walls, make vitamin D and some hormones, and digest fat. Your liver produces enough cholesterol everyday—about 1,000 milligrams –so that you don’t need any extra from food. But many foods contain cholesterol, so it’s hard to avoid getting at least another 150to200 milligrams a day.

If your cholesterol is high?

If you have too much so called ‘’ bad cholesterol’’, you can develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels, which makes it hard for blood to flow through your arteries to your heart and brain. That’s why people with high cholesterol are at higher risk for heart attacks and stroke. Your doctor can check your cholesterol level with a simple blood test.

“Good” and  “bad”  cholesterol

  The body, cholesterol moves around by combining with proteins to form “lipoproteins”. One type is high-density lipoproteins (HDL); another is low-density lipoproteins (LDL). HDL is “good” cholesterol because it actually helps remove “bad” cholesterol from blood vessel. But LDL is the “bad” kind that gunk’s up blood vessels.

How do you get high cholesterol?

              Sometimes you can be prone to high cholesterol because it runs in your family. If that’s the case, you might be level down. But diet and lifestyle play a huge role, too.

Eating “bad” fats is a major cause of high cholesterol in the United States. Bad fats are “trans fats” liquid fats that are hydrogenated to make them solid. Unfortunately, many processed foods are made with trans-fat fast food, packaged baked goods, margarine, pizza dough, ram-en noodle cups, microwave popcorn, and lots more.

You can also get high cholesterol if you’re overweight  or don’t get enough exercise.

REMEMBER:

First and foremost, try to stay away from processed  foods that contain saturated fat or trans-fat. Instead, choose food with “good” fats-like fish, nuts, and olive oil all fit the bill. Choose low-fat dairy products and trans-fat-free margarine. Stick with “real” foods like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. You might not be able to steer clear of foods with bad fats all the time-after all, these items are everywhere-but every little bit will help. 

And of course, try to keep your weight down and get regular exercises!   

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!!! :) :)